Planning tool
What should you tip your Kilimanjaro crew?
Tipping on Kilimanjaro is organised, not optional in practice, and easiest to get right if you build the pool per role per day rather than guessing a lump sum. Set your group size and days, adjust the crew to what your operator actually sends, and split the result.
The tip pool
Per-day norms per role for the whole group: lead guide $20, assistant $15, cook $12, porter $8. Tips are on top of wages, not a substitute for them. Hand the pool over at the final ceremony, publicly, so every porter sees the split.
Typical totals at a glance
| Group size | Typical crew | Pool, 7 days | Per climber |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 climber | 5 crew (3 porters) | $392 | $392 |
| 2 climbers | 9 crew (6 porters) | $665 | $333 |
| 4 climbers | 15 crew (12 porters) | $1,001 | $250 |
| 8 climbers | 29 crew (24 porters) | $1,862 | $233 |
Larger groups pay less per head because guides and cooks are shared. Porters scale with the group, so their share stays constant per climber.
The part that matters more than the amount
Tips are on top of wages, never a substitute. KPAP's wage floors are 20,000 TZS a day for porters, 30,000 for cooks and 40,000 for guides, and KPAP partner operators are audited against them. Hand the pool over at the farewell ceremony in front of the whole crew, so the split is public. Our tipping guide covers the ceremony, currencies and the etiquette in full, and the operator directory shows which operators publish their tipping policy at all.